


New London

by pinkladyalex



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Future Fic, Multi, New London, Rebel Group AU, Team Zap, dystopian au, just to be clear Larry is not the focus of this fic, now, zayn is kinda the main focus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-18
Updated: 2014-05-29
Packaged: 2018-01-19 20:11:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1482400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkladyalex/pseuds/pinkladyalex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one out after ten pm. No one speaks poorly of the government. Cross the wall illegally and be shot on sight. Marked members of the Slums are never allowed past Zone B. Anyone who attempts to rebel will be diminished, and any leader of a revolt will be killed. </p>
<p>Therefore, shoot and kill any of the members of Team Zap on sight. </p>
<p>Team Zap includes five men: Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles and Niall Horan. They may have messengers in Centric. They may have connections we are unaware of. There may be more members of their team. It does not matter: information is not the most important thing. Take down Team Zap and we eliminate the One Direction movement. </p>
<p>(or the one where they are all members of a rebel group in a dystopian society.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Join Us

**Author's Note:**

> ALL CREDIT FOR THE CREATION OF THIS WORLD AND CHARACTERS/CODENAMES/EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE PLOT GOES TO [GEEKBOYZAYN](geekboyzayn.tumblr.com) GO CHECK HER OUT!!!
> 
> Any art in this fic also is creditted to her, check out her tag 1Dystopian to see everything that inspired this fic. 
> 
>  
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the members of One Direction or the world in this fic.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Come and join us, you seem like a good enough asset. 
> 
> You just have to hate Primus.

_Beep._

 

The sound of the scanner scanning people’s marks is loud and prominent in the narrow space. Zayn is three people away from being scanned, rolling up his wrist as not to hold up the line. He’s in the tunnel underneath the large wall separating the slums from Zone B, and he’s tired. He’s been working ten hour days for the past ten days without break. He had to to earn more rations for his mother, because she wasn’t able to work. When he reaches the scanner, the officer at the front scans the mark on his wrist.

 

_Beep._

 

He moves past it and out into the open air. The streets are dark and full of people, with trash  lining the edges. There are no cars running across the pavement, just people with sad faces moving every which way. The raven haired boy in the midst of them is looked over, passed by without making much of an impression on anyone. Everyone is going the way they need to. Reporting to work on time. Zayn takes the right he’s been taking for the past five years and makes his way to the factory at the end of the street. His scanner is scanned again at the door, and when he’s approved he moves into the factory. He sits down at the seat he always sits at, not making eye contact with anyone. He picks up a back plastic end from the bucket in front of his seat. He picks up one of the sharp metal pieces from the conveyor belt, and attaches it onto the holder. He then puts it back down on the conveyor belt.

 

How ironic, that Zayn is making knives. He thinks so anyway. He gets to be so close to the weapons, but he doesn’t get to use them. He isn’t allowed to hold it in a certain way for fear of being punished by one of the Vanted officers. But Zayn doesn’t really play by the rules, and other than the viscous surveillance by the government officers, the factory is horribly regulated. He’s pocketed almost ten knives over his course of work, and he’s been training with them ever since he got his first one from his father when he was ten.

 

He’s planning on taking another one today. He’s keeping his eyes out for the Vanted that wander around the factory. When the coast was clear, he continues acting like normal, but the knife that he put together he slips into his pocket, instead of putting it back on the conveyor belt.

 

“You there!” Someone shouts from one of the tall banisters above the factory floor. Zayn continues acting like normal, like he didn’t do anything, hoping that he isn’t the one being called.

 

“You! With the black hair!” He again doesn’t respond acting like he’s not the one who they want, even though now he’s sure it is.

 

Suddenly, an hand roughly grabs his arm and pulls him out of his seat. No one near him even beats an eye. He stares at the Vanted.

 

“What do you want?” He asks, playing innocent. The Vanted reaches into his pocket and pulls out the knife. Zayn bites his lip in content as he’s roughed around, the Vanted shoving him forward and onto the ground. Zayn winces before standing up again.

 

“C’mon, let’s go.” The Vanted pressing into his back and directing him towards the back of the factory. He goes with him reluctantly, fighting against the tight grip holding his bicep. The officer just tightens it and presses the knife into his side as a warning. Finally they reach a door in the back of the factory, and the officer opens it before throwing Zayn in the room. There’s a officer sitting at a desk on the other side of the room, and the officer that accompanied him approaches the desk and then throws the knife down on it.

 

“This brat was trying to take this knife.” The officer explains. The other officer nods and then dismisses him. The officer that brought Zayn in walks out of the office with a stern look at Zayn. The door slams behind him.

 

“Sit, please. The floor is no place for you.” The officer states. Zayn stands up and slowly sits in the chair in front of the desk. The officer links his fingers in front of him and stares at him. “Why did you do it?” He asks. Zayn stutters.

 

“My mother needs a new kitchen knife and we don’t have enough to get it. I figured I could just take one for her. I don’t know what I was thinking.” Zayn lies through his teeth. The officer nods at him.

 

“What’s your name?” The officer asks.

 

“Zayn.” The officer nods at him slowly.

 

“Well, Zayn. This isn’t an excusable act you know. You’re fired.” The officer states. Zayn’s heads shoots up.

 

“But-”

 

“No. You disobey you get fired. But if you’re so interested in knives, let me show you how to use one.” The officer picks up the knife and stands up and steps around his desk. Zayn widens his eyes.

 

“Please, I’ll do anything, let me keep my job, I need it.” Zayn begs. Him and his mother have been low on rations and he needs more or else it’s possible they won’t survive.

 

“Watch closely.” The officer says, ignoring Zayn. Then he raises the knife and strikes Zayn’s face with it, right across the cheek. Zayn cries out in pain, hands going to the now bleeding gash in his cheek. “I think you’ve learned you’re lesson. Now go. And don’t come back.”

 

Zayn walks out of the factory holding his cheek with murder in his eyes. Nobody looks at him, nobody dares to look up from their work station. He gets scanned at the front of the factory, his data now shown as fired, so there is no way he could manage to get back into the building. The officer at the door shoves him out of the building before slamming the door shut.

 

The streets of Zone B are eerily quiet during work hours. The only people living in the factory ridden district are people that couldn’t even make it in the slums, and are so poor they live on the street and steal other people’s ration cards. Zayn decides to walk around for a bit before returning home, allowing his cheek to heal slightly and giving him more time to formulate how he can tell his mother that he won’t be earning them extra ration cards anymore. He walks in circles around the big district, taking in the metal and black aspects of it. The sky is a big blue contrast to the darkness of the city. Zayn can see the big wall on the opposite side of Zone B, that separates it from Chelsea, the middle class district of New London. Zayn has never seen the other side of that wall, and he doesn’t know anyone who has. But it stands tall and almost proud on the other side of Zone B.

 

In the very far distance, he can see the tallest tower in New London, that’s in Centric. Zayn has never even heard anything about Centric, other than that the tall building in the distance emits the radio signals that are broadcast throughout all of New London. There’s a speaker in the center of every small town in the Slums, and it broadcasts loud news to the towns.

 

Zayn isn’t paying much attention to where he’s walking, so when his foot kicks something small and metal, he’s shocked by the loud noise it makes clanging away from him on the pavement. He assumes it’s a piece of debris from the many abandoned factory on the side of town his ventured to, but he’s surprised to see a spot of white on the dark paved road a few feet ahead of him. He walks to it and picks it up, looking at it closer.

It appears to be a pin, circular, with a white background and two hands holding peace signs together, forming some sort of logo. He’s been standing, staring at it for a while before a voice rings in his ear.

 

“Wouldn’t do that if I were you.” It’s scratchy and old, and Zayn is startled by the man looking over his shoulder. There’s a putrid smell emitting from him, and his ripped clothes make Zayn think he’s a squatter.

 

“Why?”

 

“They’re dangerous. Vanted hate ‘em. Don’t get involved.” The man is walking away.

 

“Wait, who’s dangerous?” Zayn calls after him, but the man is already talking to himself as he moves away. Zayn is still staring at the pin before he pockets it and keeps walking. As he’s walking, he takes random turns he hasn’t taken before, because he could never lose the walls that separate the Slums from Zone B.

 

Suddenly, the logo from the pin is staring him in the face. It’s huge, on the side of one of the abandoned factories. Zayn pulls out the pin and holds it up in contrast, just to check and make sure he’s not going crazy. Once he realises he isn’t, he makes his way towards the building, getting odd looks from a few people staring at him as he approached it. There’s some weird makeshift store at the front, but it looks closed, so Zayn makes his way towards the back. He sees a door with the logo on it, and he knocks on it, thinking maybe the pin belongs to someone here. He just hopes it’s not a gang or something.

 

_Knock. Knock._

 

A small slit in the door opens and blue eyes appear at it.

 

“Who’re you?” The person says.

 

“Um, Zayn. I found your pin on the ground....” Zayn replies, holding the pin up in the persons eyeline. The person looks him up and down before stepping back and opening the door. A small boy is standing there. Okay, Zayn wouldn’t say _small_ but he was quite short. He’s staring at him with his eyes squinted slightly, checking him out. Then he steps back and moves into the warehouse. Zayn follows. There’s a small hallway the move down, and then it goes into a large open room, most likely the factory floor. In one corner there are four beds set up, all extremely close together but all distinctly for different people. The farthest corner from Zayn has four or five tables set up, all with papers spread out around them and one with what looks like ammo. The far right corner had body bags and targets set up, and the last corner had couches and a table in it.

 

“Hi. I’m Louis. Bones is around here somewhere.” The boy leads Zayn towards the couches and then sits down on it, patting the couch expecting Zayn to sit. "What happened to your face?"

 

"Ran into a bit of trouble at work." Zayn replies. There's dried blood on his hand and on his cheek, although the flesh wound has pretty much stopped bleeding. 

 

"Well let's get you cleaned up." Louis says, then walks over to the beds and returns with a first aid kit. He takes out alcohol wipes and starts dabbing Zayn's cheek. "This might sting a little"

 

“Who-ah shit- are you guys?” Zayn asks. Louis raises his eyebrows, then takes Zayn's hand and wipes the blood off of it. 

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Well, I was looking at this pin, and this guy walked over and told me not to be doing that. That you were dangerous.”

 

“We are dangerous.” Louis replies, he takes a bandage and puts it on Zayn's cheek, but Zayn leans back a bit.

 

“Umm...”

 

“Have you heard of Zap?” Louis asks, leaning forward.

 

“Yea, that rebel movement? Didn’t they take out a Vanted group that was moving towards the slums?” Zayn remembers now. He heard about a rebel movement about a month ago, that called themselves Zap and took out a Vanted patrol unit that was going to take out houses in the Slums.

 

“Welcome!” Louis explains standing up with his arms out. 

 

“You guys are the rebel movement?”

 

“Well, it’s not just the two of us. There’s four main guys, but we have a bunch of supporters right now, they just aren’t fighting just yet.” Louis plops back down next to Zayn, moving to put the bandage over his wound. He tapes it down then closes the box with the First Aid supplies. “But you look like you could be a good asset. Do you like Primus?”

 

“God no.”

 

“Good. I’ll give you till sunrise tomorrow to make your decision. I want you on Team Zap Zayn, but if you rat out our location I’m going to be disappointed.” Louis explains, then stands up, leaving Zayn baffled on the couch. A boy with blond hair then walks over to the couch area with an apple in his hand.

 

“Who’re you?” He asks with a mouthful.

 

“Zayn? Louis offered me a spot on team Zap, I apparently have till sunrise tomorrow?” Zayn explains, still a little in shock. The boy, he assumes it’s the boy Louis mentioned before- Bones was it?

 

“Oh, alright. You seem like you’re chill enough. As long as you hate Primus, that’s really the only requirement.” The boy shrugs.

 

“I do.”

 

“Cool. Best run along, get home to your family or whatever. You might be saying goodbye to them. Or not, if you don’t want. But you probably will if you join us. It gets a bit crazy trying to maintain a normal life as well as being on this team.” The boy explains. Zayn nods, then gets up, shaking his head out.

 

“Maybe I’ll see you later.” Zayn says. The boy nods in his direction, laying down on the couch.

 

“Maybe.” He calls. Zayn walks out the door dazed and confused.

  
  


*****

*****

 

“Mum? I’m home.” Zayn calls through his small home. He walks through, trying to find his mother who’s usually in the kitchen preparing dinner for the two of them when he returns home. He is a little early, but he figured she’d still be there. “Mum?”

 

He turns the corner into the kitchen and screams.

 

His mother’s body is on the floor, her eyes still open and a knife in her hand. There’s a paper on the table.

 

_We understand this women had a son. This letter is to inform you of why she is dead now, as we are assuming you’ve found her._

_She was caught using ration cards she did not earn. She tried to explain they were her sons, and that he was working, but using someone else’s earned ration cards is inexcusable._

_Her death was quick and nearly painless. We are sorry for your loss._

_Vanted Officer Johnathan Smith._

 

Zayn breaks down into tears over his mother’s body, the piece of eerily pristine white paper gripped in his hand.

 

If he was questioning about whether to join Team Zap before, he certainly isn’t now.

 

*****

*****

 

Zayn stares down at the fresh patch of earth in his backyard. It’s midnight, and since they don’t have graveyards in the Slums, he had to bury his own mother in their backyard. He stuck a makeshift cross at the head of it. Now he’s just staring at it with tears running down his face.

 

He has a duffel bag slung over his shoulder with everything he owns in it. He kneels down at the foot of his mothers grave.

 

“Mum. I know you wouldn’t want me to do this. You always warned me to stay out of trouble. But you can’t see the scar on my face. You aren’t here to tell me no. And because of that I can’t let it rest, mum. I’m not letting you die in vain. I’m not letting them kill you because you wanted more food. I’m not going to let this happen to anybody else. I’m so sorry, mum. I’m so sorry.” Zayn whispers, holding his face in his hands. Then he stands up, wipes his tears and turns his back on the grave before walking away.

 

He makes it to the wall without being spotted, and then walks to the old opening in the wall that isn’t monitored anymore. He slips through it unseen and makes his way through Zone B.

 

He walks his way through the shadows, remaining hidden, before the building from earlier that day comes into view. He makes his way back to the back door and knocks on it. After about five minutes, the slit opens up and Louis’ tired eyes appear.

  
“I want in.” Zayn announces. He sees the crinkles by Louis’ eyes appear as he smiles. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooo that's the first chapter! Hope you enjoyed and continue reading!


	2. Prove Your Worth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You can't just join us, you know. You have to show us what you can do.

_Louis had been walking around since early that morning. His mother and father already went to work, leaving him at home alone. He was technically not supposed to leave the house, but he thought that was stupid. So he took one of his dad’s bags and filled it with clothing, a few pieces of money that his family had, and left. He didn’t like living with his parents, they never let him do what he wanted. So he left._

_He was flipping a coin up and down, careful not to drop it on the street in case someone was to pick it up later. He knew it was rare for any family living where he lived to have coin money, so he didn’t want anyone taking his. He had been walking for about to hours, whistling and flipping his coin, feeling like a free man at the age of ten. He didn’t really understand how his world worked yet._

_He figured he was far enough away from home that he didn’t need to hide anymore, so he was walking in the open street, the small rundown houses quiet because anyone who could work was at work, and anyone who couldn’t was most likely bedridden. All the children were warned not to leave their houses, and Louis was the only one brave enough to disobey._

_He could see someone up ahead, crouched on the ground with a blanket over their body. They seemed small, brown hair peeking out. As Louis got closer, he could hear the labored breathing and read the poorly made sign that read, ‘Need rations, will do anything.’ Louis approached the boy, and it became clear that he was a child living on the street. Louis was sad, he had seen it before and always wanted to do something, and now he had money and freedom and he felt that he could._

_“Hi, I’m Louis.” He approached. The boy stared at him with wide eyes._

_“W-What are you doing out right now? No one’s supposed to be on the streets.” THe boy said with a shaky scared voice and shifty eyes._

_“I don’t like rules. And I’m running away.”_

_“Oh, I, um, that’s nice.”_

_“Want to come with me? I have money.” Louis explained, sitting down next to the boy._

_“Money?” The boy asked._

_Louis nodded quickly and proudly, reaching into his bag to pull out a few coins. “Yea, see? I took some from my daddy before I left. But he won’t notice.”_

_“Are you sure?”_

 

_“Yeah, definitely. C’mon, skin ‘n bones, it’s no big deal.”_

_“Skin ‘n bones?”_

_“That’s what you are. Let’s go! Throw away your sign. We can go on an adventure.” Louis was getting excited now, at the prospects of having a new friend to run away with._

_“O-Okay.” The boy smiled._

Louis is woken up by talking at the door. The voices are pretty loud, and he tries to run the sleep out of his eyes as he stands up, planning to tell them to kindly _shut the fuck up, thanks_. But as he neared the back door he realised there was an argument going.

 

"What kind of password even _is_ that? Honestly! I'm new here okay, so I don't know everything about this, but I know that that's the dumbest password I've ever heard." Zayn is saying through the slit in the door. Louis can't see who's on the other side.

 

"Ask Fuse about it, he's the one who came up with it!"

 

"Again with the 'Fuse' bullshit. There is no Fuse here!" Zayn shouts. Louis clears his throat and Zayn turns around. "Louis, thank god you're here. I don't know who the fuck this guy is but he's been bullshitting me for the past hour."

 

"It has not been an hour!" The other man grumbles.

 

"I'm Fuse, Zayn, that's my codename. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier but I was too tired last night and didn’t want to risk it before you were officially on the team." Louis explains.

 

"Oh." Zayn say sheepishly.

 

"It's fine." Louis steps up to the door and sees Liam behind it.

 

"Fuse! Thank fuck! Okay, 'Rabbit, 1D is the bestest', now let me in." Liam protests. Louis shakes his head at him but smiles and steps back, opening the door. Liam walks in with a scowl and folds his arms against his chest when he's sees Zayn.

 

"Who's the new kid?" Liam asks, eyeing Zayn. Louis throws an arm around Liam's shoulder. Zayn looks at his feet.

 

"That's Zayn. He came by yesterday 'cause he found a pin, and he says he hates Primus. He got fired from his job after getting slashed with a knife, so I believe him. Came back last night and we found out he's got almost twelve knives of different shapes and sizes and he knows how to use almost all of 'em expertly. Great asset if you ask me." Louis explains in a whisper to Liam. Liam nods and walks over to his bed, dropping his duffel. Zayn is staring at him.

 

"Does he not like me?" He whispers to Louis.

 

"He'll warm up, don't worry." Louis whispers back.

 

"So did you get anything special Liam?" Louis asks, sitting down on Liam's bed as Liam opens the duffel. Bones is asleep in his bed still, the heaviest sleeper of the bunch, snoring lightly and shifting every once and a while.

 

"I found two bats and a crapton of ammo. There was a storage unit left wide open in the back of the slums, with almost nothing left in it except this stuff. I didn't have enough time to look anywhere else." Liam explains, dumping the contents of his duffel onto his bed. One wooden bat, one metal bat, and four boxes of ammo for a few different guns stare back at them. Louis notices Zayn is now sitting on the edge of his bed, observing from afar.

 

"This is great." Louis concludes, picking up the metal bat and feeling the weight of it in his hand. "I could turn this into a flaming bat. A tube of gasoline on the tip." Louis smiles, feeling the end of the bat. He sees Zayn give him a weird look out of the corner of his eye and Liam rolls his eyes.

 

"All you ever think about is fire." Liam scoffs.

 

"Where do you think I got my codename?" Louis replies, taking the two bats and walking towards the corner of the warehouse that had their weapons in it.

 

Louis has been meaning to take down the government ever since he was little. As he grew older, living on the streets with Bones, he realised his parents weren't at fault for him not being able to do what he wanted. He remembers hearing the loud speakers crackling through town, ordering children to go inside, or reminding everyone of the curfew set on them. He remembers listening to it with Bones as they hid in the shadows, praying not to get caught by a Vanted officer. He realised the government was who killed Bones’ parents and put him on the streets. He realised that if he was ever going to be able to do what he wanted, he had to take down the government first. Of course, he didn't just want it for himself. He wanted it for everyone who had to deal with the harshness of Primus, and there were a lot of them.

 

So he and Bones started Team Zap. They called it that because the first weapon they successfully stole was an electric gun, that the Vanted officers often used. They had snuck into a Vanted compound and taken two, one for each of them, and then killed a rabbit with it for dinner. When the rabbit was shot, it made a loud ZAP and burst into flames. (That was also the night Louis realised just how much fun fire was) They put out the fire quickly and then enjoyed their small feast. They were 13 and 12 then, and it was so much fun. Louis felt like he was finally taking a stand against the people that ruined his life, and Bones liked the fact they got food. It was a win-win.

 

There’s another knock on the door while Louis is putting the bats and ammo in their correct spots on the weapons wall. The bats all hang from a small cart with holes in the top, perfect size so just the end of the back catches on the hole but it won’t fall through. The ammo is separated in bins labeled by size. Zayn moves towards the door, but Liam grabs his arm.

 

“Louis’ got this one.” Liam warns Zayn.

 

“I get the password/codename thing. I don’t need any-” Liam glares at him and Zayn rolls his eyes but shuts up.

 

Louis’ already moved to the door anyway. He tries for nonchalance, but anyone with eyes could he was either excited or nervous. Possibly both. When he looks through the door, he doesn’t even wait for a password before opening the door.

 

A tall lanky guy walks through the door and Louis immediately wraps his arms around his middle. Zayn is slightly shocked, because Louis didn’t come off as the ‘let me squeeze you really hard as you do the same’ type, he seemed very goal-oriented. Zayn looks to Liam to see if he’s shocked as well, but he’s gone back to counting and sorting the ammo.

 

Louis’ enveloped in Harry’s arms and he breathing him in and smiling widely. He always hates it when Harry goes out on his own, but Harry always insists that he’s capable, and that ‘Louis’ fears can’t hold him back.’ (They’d actually gotten into their only fight ever over that exact topic, which may have ended with Louis admitting he was in love with Harry. Details.) Louis pulls back and smiles up at Harry, which earns him a quick peck on the lips.

 

“Thank god you’re back. Was starting to worry.” Louis mumbles when into Harry’s chest. Harry laughs.

 

“I always come back.” Harry reassures, pressing another lasting kiss to his lips and then moving away to pick up his bag again. Louis moves back into business mode, although he makes sure he laces his fingers with Harry’s.

 

“Zayn, Li, c’mon over. We’ll wake up Bones.” Louis calls. Harry eyes him oddly as he walks over to set his bag on his bed, which looks oddly slept in. He wraps his arms around Louis from behind.

 

“Zayn?” He asks.

 

“New addition, he came yesterday. I’ll explain more later.” Louis explains, then turns his head for a kiss before Harry nods, then he leads them to the corner of the warehouse where there are tables set up with maps of the entire city of new london, and detailed maps of each section. They all gather around, Bones approaching while scratching his head in tiredness. When they’re all around the table and Louis has slapped Bones across the back of the head to wake him up, they start their makeshift meeting.

 

“If you didn’t notice, we’ve got a new member of our team. Zayn here found our pin and decided to pay us a visit yesterday.” Louis says, clapping Zayn on the back. “He hasn’t got a code name yet but he will soon.” Zayn nods at everyone, but Liam is staring him down.

 

“What can you do?” Harry asks. Zayn still hasn’t been properly introduced to the tall curly haired boy.

 

“What do you mean?” Zayn replies.

 

“Like, what have you got to offer? I’m sure Lou didn’t just take you on for no reason.” Harry clarifies.

 

Louis blushes and moves to explain himself. “Well I kinda did.” Harry gives him a weird look and and Liam looks like he expected it. “I figured we could use another lad on the team, and he seemed lean enough.” Louis continues. All eyes are on Zayn now and he finds himself uncomfortable under their gazes. “But last night while we were figuring everything out, Zayn explained he’s quite good with knives of all shapes and sizes, right Zayn?”

 

“Um yeah....” Everyone was still looking at him expectantly. “My dad gave me my first one when I was ten and I’ve been training ever since. I used to work in a factory that made knives, up until yesterday actually, and I’ve stolen ten over the years. I brought all my knives with me, too.” Zayn explains. Bones looks interested, as does the curly lad. Liam is still giving him a wary look.

 

“Why don’t you show us what you got yea?” Louis asks him. Zayn nods and goes over to his bag to get his knives while the rest of the guys go over to the training area next to the weapons wall. Liam is standing there with a stern look on his face, and Louis is continuously attempting to get him to lighten up by knocking their elbows together and waggling his eyebrows. Liam cracks a smile when Louis blows a raspberry on his neck but goes right back to his face of disapproval. Harry has his arm permanently around Louis’ shoulders, it seems, and Harry seems intrigued. Bones and Louis both seem excited. Zayn walks back over with two blades in his belt and one his hand.

 

The one in his hand is a spear point blade. It’s a black handle with a spear like blade of the same color on it, and it’s heavy in his hand. He stands himself about twenty feet away from a target shaped like a human body. He pulls his hand back and aims, then throws the knife straight into the bicep of the target. He hears Bones whoop behind him, and he thinks it’s Louis clapping, but Harry and Liam don’t say a word. Harry is slightly impressed though, he just doesn’t show it outwardly yet.

 

Zayn pulls the second knife out of his belt, another black handled knife but this time the blade’s a silver straight back, where one side up to the point is sharp and the back is straight. He holds his arm out in front of him, lining up with the heart on the target, then pulls back and throws the knife, which hits the target dead-on.

 

“Yea! Go Zayn! WOO!” Bones cheers in the background, and Zayn turns around with a smile. Liam seems to have loosened up slightly, and Harry looks thoroughly impressed. Louis is beaming in pride. Zayn turns his attention back to the target, and reaches into his belt to get his favorite knife.

 

It’s a blue knife from base to tip, the blade is dark blue as well due to tarnish on the original metal. It’s a needle point blade, thin tipped and long, with a small grip on the side of it. He aims it at the targets head, and lands it dead on in one shot. The difference is, only the dark blue grip is visible and the hilt is pressed up against the target directly. There are more cheers from Bones, and a clap from Harry. Louis runs to the target and turns it on it’s side. All of the points of the knives are sticking out the back of the target, except for the head. The entire blade went through it, and you can see the whole thing from the back.

 

“Nice work, mate. Didn’t see that much coming from you I’m sorry to say.” Bones says, slinging an arm around Zayn’s shoulders. Zayn nods slightly and then moves to the target, where Louis is attempting to pull his spear point blade out of the target. Zayn nudges Louis out of the way and takes over, easily sliding the knife out in the exact path it went in. Louis gives him a quick hug.

 

“Did I tell you he’d be a good asset, or did I tell you he’d be a good asset?” Louis proclaims. Harry laughs and runs over, picking him up by the waist and laughing. Liam is still looking stern, but his arms have come uncrossed and he looks a little looser.

 

“Better than expected.” Is all that Liam comments. Zayn finds himself smiling smally at the comment, as it seems Liam’s approval is hard to get, and he knows that to be part of this team everyone on the team has to like him.

 

“Better than expected?! Liam that was bril!” Harry says, his arm slung around Louis again and Liam rolls his eyes. Zayn walks back over with his knives back in their respective places on his belt. Suddenly they are all laughing -Zayn’s pretty sure Bones started it- in this circle of laughter and Zayn feels weirdly happy with this group of strangers, happier than he really has in a long time.

 

*

*

 

They are all sitting around the small fire Louis built with only a piece of lint, some twigs, and a rock (they didn’t call him fuse for nothing) with a beer in each of their hands. It turns out that Harry works in Chelsea, grew up there as well, but ran away after his sister was killed for being out after curfew. But because his family still lived there, he was able to go visit them with their permission, and therefore got privileges that the boys that grew up in slums didn’t. One of them being alcohol, and Zayn is very much enjoying his first drink.

 

“You all know we have to take action sooner rather than later, yeah? After the stunt we pulled last month they’ve gotten onto us, so we are going to have to show we are actually a threat at some point.” Louis comments. The rest of the boys nod along.

 

“Are we a threat?” Zayn inquires. Liam gives him a look that reads are you fucking crazy and the rest of the boys laugh. Bones, who’s sitting next to him, claps him on the back.

 

“You have no clue, mate. We have people everywhere. Only one in Centric, but she’s enough. And we’re gaining popularity in the slums.” Bones informs him. Zayn nods.

 

“Well, what are we going to do?” Harry asks. Louis looks around at all of them, as if sizing them up for whatever ideas he has.

 

“First of all, we need more guns. We have so much ammo and only three guns. So tomorrow night Zayn and I will go into the gun factory after closing and steal more.” Louis concludes. Zayn looks up with a shocked look.

 

“What?”

 

“It’s your test mission, Zayn. We’ve never included a new member into Team Zap without valid reasoning that they will benefit us if this builds to anything serious, so we are gonna need you to go out there and complete a mission. Plus, we need a codename for you. For now it’ll be anonymous, even though that’s a mouthful. We’ll leave tomorrow around this time.” Louis explains. The rest of the boys nod, and Zayn nods as well. He hadn’t realised the complete realness and seriousness of the movement.

  
“Alright, we’ll steal some guns.” Zayn says. The boys whoop and holler, placing another beer in his hand and laughing with him. The rest of the night is spent playing old games that Louis had learned from his grandfather -who grew up before the war- before he ran. Zayn finally feels like he’s part of something, that the routine he’s gotten used to for ten years has been broken. He feels like he belongs. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the chapters are going to be about this long? but many of them are going to be like part 1, part 2, etc.   
> If you enjoyed please leave comments and kudos!!!!


	3. Prove Your Worth P.2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Show us what you can do, c'mon, I dare you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so in case you guys didn't go back and read the first chapter after I editted it, Niall is Bones but we don't technically know that. So just know that's his character, but forget that his real name is Niall?

“Base to Fuse. What’s your position?” Harry’s voice rings through the talking system that all the members of the team have hooked in their ears.

 

Stealing the guns meant sneaking into a government factory that made guns, and then taking them. Zayn and Louis were the ones actually doing the stealing, and they’re at the back door of the factory waiting for Liam. Liam is on the other side of building, getting to the roof where the security box is, so he can disable the system. Harry and Bones are back at the warehouse. Harry is on the roof, his night vision goggles - lord knows where he got them - allowing for him to see all the way to the factory they’re at, and anywhere down the way. He’s there to tell them if someone is coming their way. Bones is at the table with the maps, looking over them and in charge of directing Louis, Zayn, and Liam where they need to go.

 

“Fuse to bambi. In position.” Louis responds as him and Zayn take position next to the back door of the factory.

 

“Base to Fuse, we read your position. Base to Rabbit, what’s your position?” Harry asks.

 

“Rabbit to all, thirty seconds to position.” Liam says. Liam is climbing the ladder on the far side of building, to access the security center on the roof of the building. Once that’s disabled, Louis and Zayn are moving into the building and taking all the guns they can.

 

"Copy. Waiting for your signal." Louis says. Zayn has an ear piece, but he doesn’t speak because Louis told him to just observe for the first mission. If they end up splitting up, which Bones said they might, then Zayn will use his in ear piece.

 

“Rabbit to all, in position. Two minutes until go.” Liam states. The codenames are safety- Louis had explained -in case anyone hacks the frequency they are on.

 

“Bones to all. I’m really hungry.” Bones is the only one who used his real name as his codename, because technically Bones isn’t his real name. He hasn’t told anyone his real name since Louis gave him his nickname, but the government doesn’t know that name. Louis rolls his eyes at the comment.

 

“Fuse to Bones. Shut the fuck up.” Zayn laughs quietly.

 

“Rabbit to Fuse. All’s a go.” Liam says. Louis stands from where he and Zayn were sitting next to the door and Zayn follows suit.

 

Louis stays pressed against the wall as he reaches out for the handle. He explained to zayn before they left that touching the door could set off security systems in any government building. Now that Liam has disabled the system, they should be able to get in without any problems, but they still need to be careful. They’re both wearing gloves as to not leave prints anywhere, and they are both prepared to run if necessary.

 

Luckily, Louis is able to turn the handle and push the door open without any trouble. Louis moves in first, his electric gun held out in front of him with both hands. Once he clears the entryway, he gestures for Zayn to follow behind him. Zayn has his knives on his belt, but has an electric gun held in front of him as well. Bones had taught him to use it last earlier in the day, before they left at 2300. Zayn had also been updated on the use of traditional military time, where 2300 was the equivalent of 11:00. They reach a turn at the end of the hallway, and Louis does a sweep with his gun, before speaking into his earpiece.

 

“Fuse to Bones. We reached a turn, it goes in two directions. Which way to the storage room?” Louis asks. Zayn looks down the turn to the right, while Louis looks to the left, and then they move and stand back to back in between it.

 

“Bones to Fuse. Fuse go left, Anonymous go right, there are two storage rooms.” Bones reports.

 

“Copy.” Louis says, then gestures for Zayn to do the same.

 

“Copy.” Zayn responds, then they both start moving in their respective directions.

 

“Bones to anonymous.” Bones says and Zayn tunes in. “Move down that hallway and make a left at the end of it, then take a turn into the first door you see.” Zayn listens intently.

 

“Copy.” Zayn replies.

 

“Bones to Fuse...” Zayn tunes out and moves down the long hallway. It’s dark and narrow but Zayn turns on his flashlight which keeps him from tripping over small notches on the ground. When he reaches the first turn, he steps through it and experiences a moment of vertigo.

 

He’s at the end of one of the flies that run over the factory floor. It’s narrow and red from what Zayn can see. He clicks off his flashlight as not to shine light down on the open factory and cautiously starts moving down the fly. He stays in the center and allows his eyes to adjust, watching the machine come into view.

 

It’s such a different way to see the factory. All the machines are turned off but the chairs are still lined up. It’s eerily quiet, like the ghosts of the workers from earlier in the day still lingered, finishing their work. Zayn looks on in awe, his jaw open slightly, as he walks slowly down the fly. He holds in a gasp as he realises he’s looking at his old life from an outside perspection.

 

“Everybody freeze!” Zayn is shaken out of his thoughts by Liam’s voice of the radio. He stops where he is, frozen in place. “Rabbit to all. The security system rebooted. Do not move until my signal, I don’t know where there are triggers.” Liam reports. Zayn stays frozen in place. “Do you copy?”

 

“Copy.” Zayn reports.

 

“Copy.” He hears Louis say.

 

“Rabbit, that place is lit up like a christmas tree, what happened?” Harry asks. Apparently the security turned on some of the outer lights in the building.

 

“I’m not sure, but i’m fixing it now. If worse come to worst then we can make a break for it.” Liam reports.

 

“Anonymous, I promise most of the time this shit doesn’t happen.” Louis says. Zayn nods even though that can’t see each other.

 

“Bones to all. I have the maps at the ready to direct you if you end up running.” Zayn hears.

 

“Anonymous to Bones. How far am I from the supply unit? I’m about halfway across the factory floor.”

 

“Bones to anon. It’s the first door at the end of the platform you’re on now. But don’t even think about going and trying to get anything if we have to run.”

 

“Fuse to all. Platform?”

 

“Anon to Fuse. Don’t worry about it.”

 

“Rabbit to all. I’ve gotten the security down again, but I don’t know for how long. Get the weapons and get out.” Zayn starts off across the fly again, moving faster this time. He goes right into the first door on his left, and as he shines his light around he sees that the room is filled with guns and ammo.

 

“Anon to all. There’s a crapton in here, what do I take?”

 

“Bones to anon, we need four .22 calibers, five Glocks, and six nine millimeters. Same goes to you Fuse.”

 

“Copy.” Zayn answers.

 

“Fuse do you copy?” Bones asks. There’s radio silence. “Fuse, do you copy?” Bones repeats. Again, there’s no response.

 

“Shit.” Zayn thinks Liam mutters.

 

“Fuse? Are you there?” Harry asks, his voice worried.

 

“Fuse! Come in Fuse!” Bones starts to shout. Zayn puts the duffel down and collects the guns he needs in it, before running out of the room.

 

“Anon to Bones, direct me to where Fuse was going.” Zayn says as he runs back down the corridor.

 

“Bones to Anon. Keep going down the hallway where you guys split, take the second right, third left, and then the first door on your right.” Bones tells him. Zayn moves fast, but replaces his electric gun for two knives.

 

“Copy.” He states. The boys continue trying to contact Louis, but Zayn tunes them out as he moves down the hallway. when he rounds the corner on the second right, he sees Louis pressed against a wall tightly, and a guard is pacing back and forth down the hallway. Zayn immediately returns to the previous hallway, pressing his back against it and lowering the duffel bag down.

 

“Anon to all.” He whispers. “I’ve got eyes. Fuse, I’m coming up behind you.” He pokes his head around the corner, waiting until the guards back is turned to get on the ground and begin army crawling to Louis. He sees Louis looking down the hallway, but not noticing him, so he feels safe. When the guard turns around again, facing him, he stops, as still as possible on the floor. The guards back is turned again, so he stands up and presses against the wall. He starts inching to where Louis is, but stops dead whenever the guard turns around. He finally gets to Louis who breathes a sigh of relief when he sees him with the knives.

 

Zayn watches, what he now recognize as, the Vanted officer walk back and forth, coming so close to the shadows he and Louis are hidden in. He contemplates what to do, but when the guards back is turned, Louis makes throwing motions at him.

 

He stares at the Vanted and watches him get closer and closer to them. Zayn knows if they get caught, they’ll be put to death. So he raises his knife and moves around Louis. He inches closer to the officer, and when he turns around, he throws a knife straight into his heart. The guard goes down gripping his chest, and both Zayn and Louis emerge from the shadows. The guard falls forward on his stomach and Zayn flips him over and checks his pulse. He shakes his head at Louis.

 

“It’s clear. We’re fine.” Louis reports, breathing heavily.

 

“Oh thank _god_.” Someone says, Zayn thinks it’s Harry.

 

“Rabbit to all. If the security system turns on again, you’ve got about two minutes. Hurry up.” Zayn and Louis quickly fill Louis’ duffel with the guns from the supply room, then run back the way they came. Zayn makes sure to stop and pull his knife out, as well as picking up his own duffel bag.

 

The make it out of the building just as Liam is counting down from 10 in their ear.

 

“Fuse to all. We’re out, mission accomplished.” Louis and Zayn high five and Zayn recognizes Bones scream of delight through his in ear.

 

They wait for Liam to come around from the other side of the building and then they head off back towards base.

  
  


When they return, Harry and Bones are there to greet them with hugs and fist bumps. Harry and Louis disappear within the first ten minutes of their return, and Bones explains that Zayn shouldn’t ask, doesn’t want to ask. They’re back within the hour, looking a lot more dazed but a lot happier. Apparently Harry got really, really, worried about Louis when he wasn’t replying. Apparently that made him really, really, horny.

 

Either way, everyone was happy that the mission had been a success, and they congratulate Zayn on a job well done as well. They make a small fire in the center of the large room again, sitting around it on the ground eating food Niall had gotten from who knows where.

 

“So what’s Zayn’s codename going to be?” Harry asks the room.

 

“What does he want it to be?” Liam asks, looking at Zayn. Ever since the mission, he’s been much nicer to Zayn, he thinks it has something to do with the saving Louis stuff.

 

“I don’t know. All of your code names have to do with something about you, and I don’t know what that would be for me.” Zayn shrugs.

 

“How about Ghost?” Louis suggests. “Because when you were coming up behind me, I couldn’t see you until you were right next to me. It was like you _were_ a ghost.” Bones nods with a smile in his direction.

 

“I like it! It sounds really cool as well.” Bones comments, smiling brightly at Zayn again. Zayn smiles back and nods.

 

“Yeah, it’s cool. Why not? Ghost it is.” The boys cheer at his response, Louis throwing an arm around his shoulders and pulling his head close to him.

 

“We are going to do so great boys.”

 

*****

*****

 

Zayn is awoken by knocks on the door. It’s been a month of living at base, and Zayn fits right in. He’s found an odd family with the boys. They haven’t gone on any other missions since his first one, altho they raided an abandoned factory two weeks back. But after a month, he’s aware of protocol for when someone comes to the door. He gets up and opens the slit, looking through the door and seeing a girl standing there with brown hair.

 

“Legs, 1D is the bestest.” She says anxiously, looking at Zayn with an unrecognizable emotion.

 

He opens the door even though he doesn’t recognize her, because she knows the password and the code name sounds familiar. She walks in very quickly and almost knocks Zayn down before she turns back around and crosses her arms.

 

“Who’re you?” She asks.

 

“Ghost. You?”

 

“Legs, I told you that. When did you start here?”

 

“About a month ago...” Zayn responds not appreciating her quizzing.

 

“Okay. Can I see Fuse?” She asks. Zayn nods and goes to wake up Louis. After an argument with Louis about waking up, he finally gets up and goes to speak to Legs. Zayn sits quietly on his own makeshift bed that they stole a mattress for about a week ago. (Up until then, Louis and Harry just shared a bed while he slept in Harry’s. The new mattress still feels unnecessary.)

 

Louis and Legs talk in the corner, and for the first few minutes Legs sends strange looks at him before they talk normally. Zayn pulls out an old comic book he had found during one of their raids and reads it again. After he’s read it three times, Louis comes over and wakes everyone up.

 

“We need to have a meeting.” He claims, getting everyone up and off their arses even though it was way too early for it. Zayn is just happy he was up before Louis started slapping people. (Of course, not Harry. It was actually laughable how gentle he was with Harry compared to the others. Zayn was slightly jealous of their relationship.)

 

Once everyone is up, even if they aren’t necessarily _at ‘em_ , they stand around the table with the maps and wait for Legs to speak.

 

“Um, so I’ll just introduce myself to Zayn real quick. I’m Eleanor Calder, I’m from Centric, and my dad works for the government. I hate the government though, just like you lot, and so I give information to these guys that I get from my dad. That’s why I’m here today.” Zayn nods in understanding, and Eleanor continues. “I overheard my dad talking about the new budgets that Dictator Brandt is putting in place. They are investing in schools in centric, but the money to go towards those schools is being taken from the money currently providing food rations for the Slums.”

 

Louis’ face is hard, angry. The boys all exchange glances and they seem to come to a consensus.

  
It’s Liam, though, who puts it into words. “We have to do something about this."


	4. UPDATE ON THIS STORY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is just an update so y'all know what's happening when I don't post for like eight months.

Okay, so basically heres the deal. I've been reading a lot of FICs recently and I've been feeling inadequate. This might have to do with the fact that I write and then post, instead of the other way around. SO this story is going on hiatus, until at least have four chapters ahead of myself written. But I just want this story to be its best, not just something I whip up on a weekend. please stay subscribed, but there will be changes to even what I have posted now most likely. I hope you understand why I'm doing this. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! pleeeeeease leave comments/kudos if you enjoyed it :)


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